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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  No.  313 


THE  UTILIZATION  OF  SOFT  CORN  IN 
BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING 


BY  H.  P.  RUSK  AND  R.  R.  SXAPP 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  JUNE,  1928 


CONTENTS 

FEEDING  TESTS  WITH  MATURE  STEERS 4 

Cattle  Make  Satisfactory  Gains  on  Soft  Corn 9 

Ear-Corn  Silage  Proves  Most  Economical  Form 13 

Sound  Corn  Made  Better  Looking  Beef 13 

SOFT  EAR-CORN  SILAGE  vs.  SHELLED  CORN  FOR  CALVES 14 

Calves  on  Ear-Corn  Silage  Made  Slightly  Cheaper  Gains 14 

Dry  Matter  in  Grain  of  Ear-Corn  Silage  Proved  Equal  to  Dry  Matter 

in   Shelled   Corn 17 

Shelled  Corn  Produced  Higher  Finish  Carcass IS 

EARLIER  TESTS  WITH  EAR-CORN  SILAGE 19 

Good  Results  With   Weanling  Calves 19 

Unsatisfactory  Results  in  One  Experiment 20 

Good  Results  With  Two- Year-Olds 21 

MOISTURE  CONTEXT  OF  SOFT  CORN 22 

CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  SOFT  CORN 23 

Chemical  Composition  Not  Significantly  Changed  in  Silo 25 

SUMMARY 27 


THE  UTILIZATION  OF  SOFT  CORN  IN 
.  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING 

By  H.  P.  RUSK,  Chief  in  Cattle  Husbandry,  and  R.  R.  SNAPP, 
Associate  Chief  in  Beef  Cattle  Husbandry 

The  extent  and  importance  of  the  soft-corn  problem  vary  from 
year  to  year  because  of  climatic  conditions  and  differences  in  the 
time  that  corn  is  planted.  The  problem  becomes  serious  and  of  na- 
tional importance  in  occasional  seasons  when  late  planting  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  cool,  wet  summer  terminated  by  an  early  frost.  Since 
1900  there  have  been  six  soft-corn  years;  namely,  1902,  1907,  1915, 
1917,  1924,  and  1927.  The  most  serious  losses  occurred  in  1917,  when 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  estimated1  that  only  57  percent  of 
the  corn  in  the  twelve  principal  corn-producing  states  was  mature  at 
the  time  of  the  first  killing  frost, 

The  importance  of  the  soft-corn  problem  has  long  been  recog- 
nized and  numerous  studies  of  its  different  phases  have  been  made 
at  the  University  of  Illinois.  The  early  studies  pointed  to  the  need 
for  a  comprehensive  series  of  investigations  that  would  correlate  the 
results  of  previous  studies  and  make  systematic  inquiry  into  other 
phases  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  backward  season  of  1924,  together 
with  heavy  frosts  during  October,  was  responsible  for  a  large  amount 
of  soft  corn  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Experiment  Station  and  provided  am- 
ple material  for  starting  such  studies.  Accordingly  the  different  phases 
of  the  problem  were  outlined  and  those  having  to  do  with  the  storing 
and  drying  of  corn  were  undertaken  by  the  Departments  of  Agronomy 
and  Farm  Mechanics  working  cooperatively,  and  those  having  to  do 
with  the  chemical  composition  of  soft  corn  and  its  feeding  value  were 
undertaken  by  the  Department  of  Animal  Husbandry.  The  work  on 
the  first  part  of  the  problem  is  still  under  way  and  only  tentative 
recommendations  concerning  the  relative  value  and  practicability  of 
the  various  methods  of  storing  and  drying  can  be  made.2 

The  studies  undertaken  by  the  Animal  Husbandry  Department, 
pertaining  to  the  composition  and  feeding  value  of  soft  corn,  while  in 


'National  Stockman  and  Farmer,  41,  835.    1917. 

'For  brief  statements  of  the  results  of  these  experiments,  see  the  Thirty- 
Eighth  Annual  Report  of  this  Station  for  1924-25,  page  141 ;  the  Fortieth  Annual 
Report,  page  217;  and  Circular  293,  "Soft  Corn,  How  to  Store  and  Feed  It," 
issued  in  1924. 


4  313  [June, 

sions  which  are  dis- 

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_        as  compared 
•;-..     ::$:::.'.:      -     :  - 

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! 

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rmal  5    ige 

T            '     aca      F  soft      -  -     •  -        r.     -  •    _  _-    i$  suggest    I     - 

5t  el      •        met       I  of  si        g  s  - 

This              ,    -     -       -  -    -       physi 

-     •   -         =ilage    it=     h      ical       mi    -it ioi  i      i       -    -      - 


FEEDING  TESTS  WITH  MATURE  STEERS 

I      I        i       ing  tests  staru       Q  1        I          :'    '  •'--   '  "   '  Ulinois 

?tai  corn. 

_                                                                             orn,  and  ear-corn 


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8  BULLETIN  No.  313  [June, 

rate.1  It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that  corn  which  has 
reached  maturity  and  started  to  dry  out  normally  will  drop  from  35 
or  40  percent  moisture  to  20  percent  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  of 
normal  fall  weather.  But  in  the  case  of  both  of  the  fields  of  standing 
corn  used  in  this  experiment,  as  well  as  in  the  case  of  the  shocked 
corn,  the  moisture  content  remained  abnormally  high  until  the  middle 
of  January,  when  observations  were  discontinued. 

Contrary  to  expectations  there  was  very  little  spoilage  in  any  of 
the  forms  of  soft  corn  fed.  Some  heating  and  molding  occurred  in  the 
first  few  loads  of  husked  corn  brought  in  for  Lot  3,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  follow  the  precaution  of  bringing  in  only  two  or  three  days' 
supply  at  one  time  until  cold  weather  arrived,  and  even  then  it  was 
found  not  to  be  safe  to  pile  up  more  than  a  week's  supply  for  the  ten 
cattle.  This  of  course  necessitated  husking  and  hauling  the  corn  in 
from  the  field  in  some  extremely  bad  weather,  when  sleet^  snow,  and 
ice  in  the  fields  and  on  the  corn  made  the  cost  of  gathering  very  high. 
While  the  corn  left  on  the  stalk  in  the  field  kept  perfectly,  and  ap- 
parently was  damaged  by  bad  weather  to  no  greater  extent  than  sound 
corn  under  similar  conditions,  the  difficulty  experienced  in  always 
keeping  a  supply  on  hand  renders  this  method  of  handling  soft  corn  im- 
practical after  the  arrival  of  winter  weather  unless  there  is  other 
corn  to  feed  during  periods  when  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  the  soft  corn 
from  the  field. 

The  fact  that  there  was  so  little  spoilage  of  ears  in  the  shocked 
corn  was  especially  surprising.2  It  was  feared  that  this  corn  might 
start  to  rot  before  the  experiment  was  well  under  way,  but  either  the 
small,  well-constructed  shocks  preserved  it  much  better  than  was  an- 
ticipated or  the  season  was  unusually  favorable  for  this  method  of 
storage.  The  investigators  are  inclined  to  believe  that  they  were  un- 
usually fortunate  in  the  weather  conditions  encountered  and  hesitate 
to  recommend  shocking  as  a  safe  method  of  preserving  immature  corn 
which  has  so  high  a  moisture  content  as  this  corn  had. 

Other  Feeds  Used. — The  oats  fed  to  the  steers  in  Lot  6  were  from 
the  1924  crop  and  were  slightly  discolored  but  otherwise  sound.  Oats 
were  added  to  the  ration  of  this  lot  because  the  climatic  conditions 
which  retard  the  spring  and  early  summer  growth  of  corn  often  are 
favorable  to  the  production  of  heavy  yields  of  oats.  Continued  wet 
weather  thru  oats  harvest  results  in  discoloration  and  consequent  re- 
duction of  market  value  of  the  crop,  making  information  on  its  utiliza- 
tion with  soft  corn  very  desirable. 

Alfalfa  hay  and  linseed  meal  were  fed  in  approximately  the  same 
amounts  to  all  lots,  since  it  was  desired  to  reduce  variables  to  differ- 

'See  Table  6  also. 

"Veterinarians  attributed  the  death  of  three  horses  on  an  adjoining  farm 
to  the  consumption  of  some  soft  corn  that  had  molded  in  the  shock. 


SOFT  COKN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FKKDIM;  9 

ences  in  the  grain  ration.  Previous  experience  with  ear-corn  silage  led 
the  investigators  to  suspect  that  some  good  legume  roughage  might 
have  a  greater  physiological  value  when  fed  in  conjunction  with  soft 
corn  than  its  generally  recognized  feeding  value  would  indicate.  The 
alfalfa  was  chopped  by  running  it  thru  a  silage  cutter,  and  this 
chopped  hay  and  the  linseed  meal  were  mixed  with  the  grain  at  the 
time  it  was  fed.  The  chopping  of  the  hay  was  done  partly  in  order 
to  facilitate  weighing  and  sacking  but  principally  to  prevent  waste 
and  assure  an  equal  consumption  of  hay  and  linseed  meal  by  all  cattle 
in  each  lot, 

The  steers  in  Lot  2  that  were  pastured  were  started  in  dry  lot 
and  fed  snapped  corn  from  the  pasture  area  for  the  first  nine  days 
of  the  experiment,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they  were  eating  28  pounds 
of  soft  corn  daily.  This  was  regarded  as  practically  a  full  feed.  On 
the  tenth  day  of  the  experiment  they  were  turned  into  the  field  and  not 
removed  except  for  weighing  until  the  corn  was  practically  gone.  The 
acreages  set  aside  for  this  lot  and  for  Lot  1,  which  received  shocked 
corn,  were  not  sufficient  to  complete  the  test  and  were  therefore  sup- 
plemented with  corn  from  the  same  field  that  furnished  the  corn  for 
Lot  3. 

Cattle  Make  Satisfactory  Gains  on  Soft  Corn 

All  lots  of  cattle  were  started  on  feed  October  25,  1924.  The 
initial  feed  was  at  the  rate  of  10  pounds  of  alfalfa  hay  and  1  pound  of 
linseed  meal  per  head  per  day  plus  approximately  one-fourth  of  a 
full  feed  of  one  of  the  various  forms  of  corn. 

The  steers  in  Lots  2,  3,  and  4  were  started  on  7  pounds  of  broken 
ear  corn  per  head  daily,  while  those  in  Lot  1  were  fed  an  amount  of 
fodder  that  contained  approximately  7  pounds  of  corn.  Lot  5  was 
given  30  pounds  of  ear-corn  silage  and  Lot  6,  20  pounds  of  ear-corn 
silage  plus  6  pounds  of  oats. 

By  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  the  feeding  period  the  steers  fed 
soft  ear  corn  were  consuming  an  average  of  24  pounds  per  head  daily, 
while  those  fed  old  corn  had  been  "stuck"  on  20  pounds  and  their 
ration  therefore  had  been  reduced  in  order  to  make  them  clean  up 
their  feed.  After  the  first  few  feeds  the  steers  receiving  ear-corn  silage 
refused  to  clean  up  until  the  hay  was  reduced  from  10  pounds  to  4 
per  head  daily.  There  was  no  further  difficulty  in  getting  any  of  the 
lots  on  full  feed,  and  all  steers  except  one  in  Lot  3  showed  keen  ap- 
petites thruout  the  experiment. 

Some  difficulty  was  experienced  with  frozen  corn  and  silage  during 
the  coldest  weather  but  not  enough  to  affect  the  results  seriously.  A 
summary  of  the  results  of  this  feeding  trial  is  shown  in  Table  2. 

All  lots  of  cattle  in  the  experiment  made  satisfactory  gains.  As 
was  to  be  expected,  the  old  corn  produced  the  most  rapid  gains.  This, 


10 


BULLETIN  No.  313 


[June, 


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SOFT  CORN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING 


11 


however,  appeared  to  be  due  to  a  larger  consumption  of  dry  in 
rather  than  to  a  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  dry  matter.     Consid- 
ered on  the  basis   of  the  amount   of   dry  matter  consumed   for   100 
pounds  of  gain,  the  soft-corn  lots,  with  the  exception  of  Lot  2  which 
was  pastured,  made  the  best  showing,  tho  the  differences  in  favor  of 
the  soft-corn  lots  arc  not  large  except  in  the  case  of  Lot  5  fed 
corn  silage. 

The  calculated  consumption  of  40.68  pounds  of  ear  corn  per  head 
daily  by  the  pasture  lot  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  there  was  as 


FIG.  3. — LOT  1,  FED  SOFT  CORN  FROM  THE  SHOCK,  AT  END  OF  TRIAL 
After  90  days  on  soft  corn  these  cattle  carried  a  good  to  choice  finish 
and  dressed  60.46  percent  in  Chicago. 


much  dry  matter  per  acre  in  the  ears  in  this  field  as  in  the  area  made 
into  ear-corn  silage.  This  amount  of  dry  matter  plus  the  weight  of 
the  moisture  in  the  ears  while  the  field  was  pastured  was  taken  as 
the  weight  of  the  ear  corn  utilized  by  the  cattle. 

The  high  consumption  of  corn  charged  to  the  pastured  lot  un- 
doubtedly represents  considerable  wastage.  Theoretically  the  corn 
wasted  by  the  cattle  should  have  been  utilized  by  the  hogs  which 
were  kept  in  the  field  for  this  purpose.  This  was  not  the  case,  how- 
ever, in  spite  of  the  fact  that  20  thrifty  pigs  weighing  approximately 
125  pounds  each  occupied  the  field  while  the  cattle  were  there  and  for 
26  days  thereafter.  The  failure  of  the  hogs  to  make  economical  use 
of  this  down  corn  is  explained  partly  by  the  fact  that  snow  and  sleet 
hindered  its  recovery  and  partly  by  the  fact  that  the  ground,  after 
being  trampled  by  the  cattle  and  then  frozen,  was  much  of  the  time 
so  rough  that  the  hogs  refused  to  forage  for  more  than  enough  to 
maintain  themselves.  In  fact,  the  pork  production  in  all  lots  was 
probably  considerably  reduced  by  the  alternate  muddy  and  frozen 
condition  of  the  ground. 


12 


BULLETIN  No.  313 


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1928]  SOFT  CORN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING  13 

The  gains  made  by  the  hogs  in  the  lots  fed  ear-corn  silage  were 
smaller  than  expected,  but  the  relation  between  the  pork  production 
in  those  lots  and  in  the  other  lots  was  in  line  with  expectations.  With 
the  exception  of  Lot  1,  where  the  larger  pork  production  was  un- 
doubtedly due  to  the  cattle  throwing  fodder  out  of  the  bunks,  the  gains 
on  the  hogs  were  much  lower  in  the  five  lots  receiving  soft  corn 
than  in  the  one  lot  receiving  mature  corn. 

Ear-Corn  Silage  Proves  Most  Economical  Form 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  significant  phases  of  this  study 
is  the  comparison  it  affords  of  the  gains  on  cattle  and  hogs  produced 
from  an  acre  of  soft  corn  harvested  in  different  ways  (Table  3). 

As  measured  by  total  gain  per  acre,  pasturing  soft  corn  in  the  field 
was  by  far  the  least  efficient  method  of  feeding  used  in  this  experi- 
ment. From  the  standpoint  of  labor  saved  in  harvesting  and  feeding, 
it  was  the  most  effective  method.  However^  when  the  extra  labor 
involved  in  getting  this  badly  trampled  field  into  shape  for  planting 
the  following  spring  is  considered,  the  advantage  in  the  labor  saved 
is  not  so  apparent.  The  results  of  this  single  test  appear  to  be  un- 
favorable to  this  method  of  using  soft  corn. 

By  far  the  largest  gains  produced  per  acre  were  made  by  the 
steers  receiving  ear-corn  silage.  Altho  this  lot  involved  the  largest 
expenditure  of  labor  in  harvesting  and  entailed  by  far  the  greatest 
investment  in  machinery  and  equipment,  the  sum  total  of  evidence 
from  this  test  indicates  that  the  use  of  ear-corn  silage  is  the  most 
economical  method  of  utilizing  soft  corn.  There  was  practically  no 
more  labor  involved  in  the  harvesting  and  feeding  of  the  ear-corn 
silage  than  in  the  harvesting  and  feeding  of  the  shock  corn,  but  the 
investment  in  equipment  was  of  course  much  larger  when  the  corn  was 
fed  as  silage.. 

Under  the  weather  conditions  that  prevailed  during  this  experi- 
ment, the  shocked-corn  method  of  feeding  proved  very  satisfactory 
wThen  the  total  beef  and  pork  produced  per  acre  are  considered.  This 
method,  however,  probably  entails  the  greatest  risk  of  spoilage  of 
any  of  the  methods  used  in  this  investigation.  Hauling  soft  corn 
direct  from  field  to  feed  lot  is  fairly  satisfactory  if  the  only  considera- 
tion is  the  amount  of  meat  produced,  but  it  is  not  satisfactory  from  a 
labor  standpoint  after  bad  weather  sets  in. 

Sound  Corn  Made  Better-Looking  Beef 

In  order  to  observe  the  quality  of  beef  produced  by  soft  corn, 
the  wholesale  rib  cut  from  one  side  of  each  steer  in  Lot  3,  fed  soft 
corn,  and  in  Lot  4,  fed  sound  corn,  was  shipped  from  Chicago  to  the 
University  for  study. 


14  BULLETIN  No.  313  [June, 

As  stated  in  the  Thirty-Eighth  Annual  Report  of  this  Station. 
"'based  on  appearance,  the  quality  of  beef  from  steers  that  were  fed 
sound  corn  was  superior  to  that  from  steers  fed  soft  corn.  The 
carcasses  were  passed  on  by  a  number  of  packing  house  men  and 
retail  meat  dealers  who  knew  nothing  of  the  feed  the  cattle  had  eaten. 
All  of  them  preferred  the  sound-corn  cattle.  The  marbling  and  color- 
ing of  the  beef  in  these  carcasses  were  much  better  than  in  those  pro- 
duced on  soft  com.  In  addition,  the  meat  was  firmer.  However, 
chemical  analysis  of  the  ribs  did  not  show  any  difference  in  water  and 
fat  content  between  the  beef  from  the  two  groups.  There  was  no  dif- 
ference in  the  palatability  of  the  two  kinds  of  beef." 

SOFT  EAR-CORN  SILAGE  VS.  SHELLED  CORN  FOR  CALVES 

Very  satisfactory  results  were  secured  from  the  use  of  soft  corn 
in  the  form  of  snapped  ear-corn  silage  in  a  200-day  feeding  trial  with 
calves  during  the  season  of  1926-27.  Good  to  choice,  high-grade 
Hereford  feeders  from  southwest  Texas  were  used.  They  had  not  been 
accustomed  to  grain  when  started  on  experiment. 

Twenty-five  steer  calves  were  selected  and  divided  into  two  lots. 
Lot  7,  including  15  calves,  was  fed  a  ration  of  ear-corn  silage,  cotton- 
seed meal,  and  alfalfa  hay.  Lot  8,  containing  10  calves,  was  fed  a 
ration  of  Xo.  5  shelled  corn,  cottonseed  meal,  normal  silage,  and  al- 
falfa hay. 

Both  lots  were  started  on  experimental  feed  December  25,  1926. 
Lot  7  was  started  on  10  pounds  of  ear-corn  silage,  1  pound  of  cotton- 
seed meal,  and  2  pounds  of  alfalfa  hay  per  head  daily.  Lot  8  re- 
ceived 2  pounds  of  shelled  corn,  1  pound  of  cottonseed  meal.  10  pounds 
of  normal  silage,  and  2  pounds  of  alfalfa  hay  per  head  daily.  The 
allowances  of  ear-corn  silage  and  shelled  corn  were  rapidly  increased 
until  the  calves  were  on  full  feed. 

Cottonseed  meal  was  fed  to  both  lots  at  the  rate  of  1  pound  per 
head  daily  until  the  consumption  of  shelled  corn  in  Lot  8  reached  7 
pounds;  thereafter  the  cottonseed  meal  was  fed  to  both  lots  at  the  rate 
of  1  pound  to  7  pounds  of  shelled  corn  consumed  by  Lot  8. 

Alfalfa  hay  was  fed  in  both  lots  at  the  rate  of  2  pounds  per  head 
daily  thruout  the  experiment. 

Calves  on  Ear-Corn  Silage  Made  Slightly  Cheapsr  Gains 

The  ear-corn  silage  was  put  up  in  the  fall  of  1925  and  the  silo 
had  not  been  open  in  the  intervening  15  months.  It  had  kept  perfectly 
and  the  calves  relished  it  from  the  beginning. 

During  the  first  140  days  the  calves  in  Lot  7  consumed  an  average 
of  18.08  pounds  of  ear-corn  silage  per  head  daily;  this  was  equivalent 
to  approximately  8  pounds  of  shelled  corn.  During  the  same  period 
calves  in  Lot  8  consumed  an  average  of  9.07  pounds  of  shelled  corn 


1928} 


SOFT  CORN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING 


15 


per  head  daily,  not  including  the  corn  contained  in  the  normal  silage. 
The  average  daily  gain  in  Lot  7  was  2.25  pounds  for  the  first  140 
days  and  2.52  in  Lot  8  for  the  same  period.  It  appears,  therefore, 
that  the  calves  receiving  soft  corn  in  the  form  of  ear-corn  silage  made 
slightly  better  use  of  the  corn  in  the  ration  than  the  calves  receiving 
shelled  corn. 

At  the  end  of  140  days'  feeding,  Lot  7  was  divided.  Ten  of  the 
calves,  designated  as  Lot  7a,  were  continued  on  the  original  ration. 
Five  calves,  designated  as  Lot  7b.  were  given  shelled  corn  in  addition 


FIG.  4. — FEEDER  CALVES  USED  ix   1926-27  EXPERIMENT 
This  is  the  shelled  corn  lot  after  126  days.    The  ear-corn 

silage    lot    made   somewhat    more    efficient,    tho   not   quite    so 

rapid,  gains. 


and  the  allowance  of  ear-corn  silage  was  reduced  about  one-third. 
The  addition  of  shelled  corn  to  the  ration  increased  the  total  consump- 
tion of  corn  for  the  entire  period  but  failed  to  increase  the  rate  of  gain. 

The  estimated  value  placed  on  these  cattle  by  a  committee  com- 
posed of  commission  men  and  packer  buyers  from  the  Union  Stock 
Yards,  Chicago,  at  the  close  of  the  experiment  was  $11.25  for  the 
steers  fed  soft  corn  in  the  form  of  ear-corn  silage  thruout  the  test, 
Lot  7a,  and  §11.15  for  the  steers  in  Lot  7b  that  received  shelled  corn  in 
addition  to  ear-corn  silage  during  the  last  60  days.  However,  the 
steers  that  received  shelled  corn  for  the  last  60  days  shipped  better, 
outsold  the  straight  ear-corn  silage  lot  25  cents  per  hundredweight, 
and  outdressed  them  1.7  percent  (Table  4i. 

Two  steers  in  Lot  7a  became  very  sick  about  ten  days  before  the 
close  of  the  experiment.  One  of  these  steers  was  removed  from  the  lot 
on  July  5  and  the  other  on  July  9.  One  died  a  few  days  later  and  the 
other  was  killed  for  autopsy.  The  cause  of  their  illness  was  not 


16 


BULLETIN  No.  313 


[June. 


TABLE  4. — SOFT  EAR-CORN  SILAGE  vs.  SHELLED  CORN  FOR  FATTENING  CALVES 

(December  25,  1926.  to  July  13,  1927,  200  days) 


Cost  of  cattle  in  lots  per 
cwt..  $9.90 


Lot  7 
15  steers 
140  days 


Lot  7a 
10  steers 
200  days 


Lot7b 
5  steers 
200  days 


Lot  8 
10  steers 
140  days 


Lot  8a 
7  steers 
200  days 


Average  initial  weight, 

pounds 377 . 6 

Average  final  weight 692 . 6 

Total  gain  per  head 315.0 

Awn:;',-  d;uh   gain..         ...  2.25 

Average  daily  ration,  pounds  . 

Shelled  corn 

Cottonseed  meal 1 . 36 

Ear-corn  silage 18 . 08 

Normal  corn  silage 

Mfalfa  hay 2.00 

Dry  matter  per  head  daily, 

pounds 11. S9 

Feed  per  cwt.  gain,  pounds 

Shelled  corn 

Cottonseed  meal 60 

Ear-corn  silage 804 

Normal  corn  silage 

Alfalfa  hay 

Total  dry  matter  per  cwt. 

(.•:iiM,  poumi.s 527.9 

Feed  cost  per  cwt.  gain $  7.38 

Necessary  selling  price  per 

'".',  !.    1!)    1"! $     8.55 

Estimated  value  per  cwt.  in 

lot' $  9.05 

Estimated  value  per  head  in 

lot $62.68 

Gain  of  hogs  per  steer,  pounds 
Corn  fed  hogs  per  steer, 

pounds 

Income  from  hogs  per  steer 

(9c  per  pound) 

Return  per  head  above  initial 
cost  of  cattle  and  feed  . 

Excluding  pork $  3.44 

Including  pork 


Bushels  of  corn  fed  per  head.. 
Corn  fed  per  cwt.  gain, 

shelled  basis,  pounds.  .  .  . 
Return  per  bushel  of  corn 

Market  slaughter  data, 

Chicago 
Weight  per  head  (July  19), 

pounds 

Shrinkage  July  13-19, 

pounds 

Shrinkage  July  13-19, 

percentage 


Selling  price  per  cwt.,  Chicago 
Net  proceeds  per  head7.  .  .  . 
Net  returns  per  cwt.  on 

July  13  weight 


Dressing  percentage. 


20.24 


359.8 
$     .92 


361.8 
807.51 
443. 61 
2.18 


1.48 
20.16 


13.01 

68'" 
920 

92'" 

594.6 
$  7.79 

$  8.66 
$11.25 

$90.84 


$20.91 


32.26< 


407.3 
$  1.39 


774.0' 
36.0 
4.44 

$12.10 
$90.24 

$11.14 
5S.9 


409.0 
830.7 
421.7 
2.11 


5.38s 

1.768 

16.938 


15.318 


77 

70 

841 

82' 


612.4 
$  8.23 

$  9.05 
$11.15 
$92.63 


$17.44 


34.14 


453.4 
$  1.25 


802.0 
28.7 
3.45 

$12.35 
$95.64 

$11.51 


376.0 
728.5 
352.5 
2.52 


9.07 
1.36 


8.14 
2.00 


12.72 


360 
54 


323 
79 


504.4 
$  7.18 

$  8.58 

$  9.65 

$70.30 

15.8 

15.50 

$  1.23 


$  7.76 
$  8.99 


22.70 


360.6 
$  1.07 


379.1 
849.5 
470.4 
2.35 


10.08» 
1.48 


8.08 
2.00 


13.66 


428 
63 


343 
85 


579.7 
$  S.32 

$  9.03 

$11.85 

$100.67 

37.5 

42.37 

$  2.85 


$23.98 
$26.83 


36.00 


428.6 
$  1.36 


'Eight  steers  only ;  one  steer  removed  July  5  and  one  July  9  owing  to  sickness.  2The  shelled  corn  was 
of  only  fair  quality  and  would  grade  No.  4  or  No.  5.  'Estimated  Chicago  value  less  $1.00  per  cwt. 
<On  a  dry-matter  basis  the  ear-corn  silage  contained  the  equivalent  of  16  bushels  of  No.  1  corn  per 
ton  of  silage.  'Five  head  only;  3  steers  from  Lot  7a  were  retained  for  futher  feeding.  'Lot  8a  was 
slaughtered  at  Urbana.  'Gross  proceeds  less  $3.41  per  head  marketing  expense.  Feed  prices  used  in 
calculation:  shelled  corn  70  cents  a  bushel,  cottonseed  meal  $40  a  ton,  ear-corn  silage  $12  a  ton,  normal 
corn  silage  $5  a  ton,  alfalfa  hay  $20  a  ton.  8The  average  daily  ration  given  for  Lot  7b  is  for  the  last 
60  days  only;  the  feed  consumed  by  these  calves  during  the  first  140  days  is  the  same  as  for  Lot  7. 


192S]  SOFT  CORN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING  17 

definitely  determined  but  symptoms  were  suggestive  of  otitis  media.1 
Xo  evidence  involving  any  part  of  the  ration  was  found.  However,  in 
order  to  eliminate  the  ration  as  a  possible  factor  in  this  trouble,  three 
of  the  calves  were  not  shipped  when  the  experiment  was  finished  but 
were  retained  on  the  ration  of  ear-corn  silage,  cottonseed  meal,  and 
alfalfa  hay  until  September  20,  another  69  days.  During  this  time 
these  calves  continued  in  perfect  health  and  made  slightly  larger  gains 
than  three  similar  calves  retained  from  Lot  8a  fed  shelled  corn. 

Three  of  the  calves  in  Lot  8  receiving  a  ration  of  shelled  corn, 
cottonseed  meal,  normal  silage,  and  alfalfa  hay  were  removed  from  the 
experiment,  at  the  end  of  140  days  for  slaughter  in  connection  with 
another  phase  of  the  investigation.  The  remaining  7  steers  in  this 
lot  continued  to  make  more  rapid  gains  than  the  calves  on  ear-corn 
silage.  At  the  end  of  200  days  these  7  steers  in  Lot  8a  had  put  on  a 
total  gain  of  470.4  pounds  per  head,  or  an  average  daily  gain  of  2.35 
pounds,  while  the  steers  in  Lot  7a  had  made  a  total  gain  of  443.5 
pounds  per  head,  or  an  average  daily  gain  of  2.18  pounds. 

While  the  rate  of  gain  in  both  lots  was  satisfactory,  the  steers 
in  Lot  8a  that  received  shelled  corn  showed  a  noticeably  higher  finish 
and  were  valued  60  cents  more  per  hundredweight  than  the  calves  that 
received  ear-corn  silage.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  when  the 
labor  involved  in  feeding,  interest  charges  and  equipment  charges  are 
disregarded  and  all  profits  are  credited  to  the  corn  fed,  the  returns  per 
bushel  in  the  two  lots  are  practically  the  same.  On  the  basis  of  16 
bushels  of  corn  per  ton  of  ear-corn  silage,  the  steers  in  Lot  7a  con- 
sumed an  average  of  32.26  bushels  of  corn  in  200  days  and  returned 
$1.39  per  bushel.  The  steers  in  Lot  8a  consumed  36  bushels  of  corn 
per  head,  not  counting  the  corn  in  the  normal  silage,  and  returned 
$1.36  per  bushel.  On  the  basis  of  a  total  consumption  of  32.26  bushels 
of  corn,  Lot  7a  required  407.3  pounds  of  corn  (shelled  basis)  per 
hundredweight  of  gain  and  Lot  8a  required  428.6.  This  difference, 
however,  is  not  significant. 

Dry  Matter  in  Grain  of  Ear-Corn  Silage  Proved  Equal  to 
Dry  Matter  in  Shelled  Corn 

The  grain  fed  the  ear-corn  silage  lot  was  calculated  on  a  Xo.  1, 
14  percent  moisture  basis  while  that  fed  the  shelled-corn  lot  graded  Xo. 
5  and  contained  an  average  of  17.4  percent  moisture.  When  corn  re- 
quired per  hundredweight  gain  is  calculated  on  a  water-free  basis,  the 
figures  are  350.2  pounds  for  the  ear-corn  silage  lot  and  353.9  pounds 
for  the  shelled-corn  lot.  It  is  also  significant  that  the  difference  in 
the  consumption  of  total  dry  matter  per  hundredweight  of  gain  in  these 


'An  inflammation  of  the  middle  ear  sometimes  terminating  in  inflammation 
of  the  brain. 


-     ~-  :    .1 


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I  -   -  "_     :  -  •          -      ".  •    -  i 


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. 


; 


20 


BULLETIN  No.  313 


[June, 


TABLE  5. — SOFT  EAR-CORN  SILAGE  vs.  SHELLED  CORN  FOR  FATTENING  CALVES 
(January  26  to  May  16,  1918,  110  days) 


Soft  ear-corn 
silage 
20  calves 

No.  5  Shelled 
corn 
10  calves 

Average  initial  weight  

Ibs. 
490.5 

Ibs. 
490.0 

Average  daily  gain  for  110  days  

2.20 

2.95 

Average  daily  ration 
Ear-corn  silage  

28  32 

Shelled  corn  

12.82 

Linseed  meal  

1.51 

2.56 

Normal  silage.  ...                  ... 

18.52 

Calculated  dry  matter  per  dav  

13.09 

18.23 

Feed  per  cwt.  gain 
Ear-corn  silage  

1  289 

Shelled  corn  

434 

Linseed  meal  

69 

87 

Normal  silage  

597 

Calculated  dry  matter  per  cwt.  gain  

595 

618 

NOTE — The  calves  used  in  this  experiment  were  high-grade  Shorthorns. 


the  difference  in  the  consumption  of  dry  matter.  The  moisture  con- 
tent of  the  ear-corn  silage  averaged  58.6  percent.  Hence  the  ration  of 
28.32  pounds  of  ear-corn  silage  and  1.51  pounds  of  linseed  meal 
amounts  to  only  13.09  pounds  when  reduced  to  a  dry-matter  basis, 
while  the  dry  matter  in  the  ration  of  the  other  lot  amounts  to  18.23 
pounds.  The  total  dry  matter  per  hundredweight  gain  was  then  almost 
identical  for  the  two  lots. 

Unfortunately  data  on  the  percentage  of  husks  and  shanks  were 
not  secured  on  this  silage,  and  it  is  therefore  impossible  to  calculate 
the  dry  matter  in  the  grain  portion.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  the 
husks,  shanks,  and  cobs  contained  a  considerable  portion  of  the  total 
dry  matter  and  it  appears  certain  that  when  reduced  to  equal  mois- 
ture basis  there  was  considerably  less  grain  fed  to  the  ear-corn  silage 
lot  than  to  the  shelled-corn  lot.  If  we  assume  that  the  percentage  of 
husks  and  shanks  in  this  silage  corresponds  to  the  percentage  actually 
determined  on  another  variety  of  corn  used  for  ear-corn  silage  in 
1924, a  not  only  would  the  consumption  of  grain  be  much  lower  in  the 
silage  lot  but  the  dry  matter  in  the  grain  per  hundredweight  gain  would 
also  be  lower. 

Unsatisfactory  Results  in  One  Experiment 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1919-20,  20  home-grown  calves  were 
fed  a  ration  of  snapped  ear-corn  silage  and  linseed  meal.  No  other 


JSee  Table  1. 


1928}  SOFT  CORN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING  21 

feeds  of  any  sort  were  supplied.  These  calves  were  well  grown,  aver- 
aging 457  pounds  per  head  when  started  on  this  test  November  6. 

These  calves  did  not  relish  their  ration.  In  fact  they  were  on  feed 
almost  two  months  before  they  consumed  as  much  as  20  pounds  of 
ear-corn  silage  per  head  per  day.  The  calves  fed  in  1916  were  eating 
that  much  by  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  the  trial.  Early  in  January 
several  of  the  calves  were  clearly  off  feed.  One  died  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  that  month  and  another  died  on  February  26.  Because  of  the 
unthrifty  condition  of  more  than  half  of  the  animals  the  test  was 
abandoned  on  March  6,  and  6  of  the  sickest  calves  were  taken  to  the 
Animal  Pathology  Laboratory  for  observation,  where  they  were  con- 
tinued on  the  original  experimental  ration  in  the  hope  of  ascertaining 
the  cause  of  the  trouble.  Xo  other  calves  died,  and  those  that  were 
in  the  poorest  condition  when  they  were  taken  to  the  laboratory  made 
some  improvement,  but  no  marked  change  was  noted  until  spring  when 
grass  came,  then  a  marked  improvement  was  noticed  in  all  the  animals. 

Apparently  the  small  amount  of  grass  which  grew  in  the  lot  where 
these  calves  were  confined  furnished  something  that  was  lacking  in 
their  previous  ration.  The  evidence  on  this  point;  however,  is  too 
meager  to  warrant  the  drawing  of  any  conclusions  as  to  the  actual 
cause  of  their  unthrifty  condition  and  subsequent  improvement.  In- 
vestigations under  way  at  the  present  time  (winter  1927-28)  are  de- 
signed to  throw  some  light  on  the  influence  of  vitamines  as  supplied  by 
alfalfa  hay  and  of  minerals  as  supplied  by  bone  meal  in  a  ration  com- 
posed of  ear-corn  silage  and  cottonseed  meal. 

On  March  6,  10  of  the  remaining  calves  were  put  on  a  ration  of 
shelled  corn,  linseed  meal,  alfalfa  hay  and  normal  silage.  On  this 
ration  they  made  satisfactory  gains.  On  August  4,  4  of  the  heifers 
were  put  into  the  College  purebred  herd,  and  5  steers  and  1  heifer 
were  shipped  to  Chicago,  where  they  averaged  955  pounds  and  sold 
for  $17  per  hundredweight,  the  top  of  the  day. 

The  appearance  of  this  ear-corn  silage  was  good,  and  a  bacteri- 
ological examination  failed  to  reveal  anything  that  might  cause  the 
unthrifty  condition  observed  in  the  experimental  calves. 

Good  Results  With  Two-Year  Olds 

During  the  fall  of  1918,  20  two-year-old  steers  averaging  812 
pounds,  were  given  an  average  daily  ration  of  23.86  pounds  of  snapped 
ear-corn  silage,  2.46  pounds  of  linseed  meal,  and  1.95  pounds  of  oat 
straw  for  a  period  of  79  days.  During  that  time  they  made  an  average 
daily  gain  of  1.67  pounds. 

This  gain  is  considered  satisfactory  in  the  light  of  the  fact  that 
not  much  more  than  half  a  full  feed  of  ear-corn  silage  was  fed.  Sub- 
sequent experience  leads  to  the  belief  that  these  steers  would  have 
made  much  larger  gains  if  the  feeder  had  not  been  so  cautious  in 


22 


N  No.  313 


[June, 


getting  them  on  full  feed.  In  the  1924  experiment  steers  weighing  980 
pounds  were  started  on  30  pounds  of  ear-corn  silage  per  head  daily 
and  for  the  80-day  feeding  period  their  consumption  of  silage  averaged 
45.43  pounds  per  head  daily  ( see  Table  2,  Lot  5 ) . 

MOISTURE  CONTENT  OF  SOFT  CORN 

The  moisture  content  of  soft  corn  was  shown  by  early  investi- 
gations to  vary  greatly  with  its  stage  of  maturity  at  the  time  of 
the  first  killing  frost  and  with  subsequent  handling  and  weather 
conditions.  Immediately  following  the  first  killing  frost  it  may  vary 
from  around  25  percent  for  corn  that  has  reached  its  full  growth  and 
started  to  dry  out  normally,  to  50  percent  or  even  65  percent  for  corn 
caught  by  frost  while  in  the  roasting-ear  stage.  Under  favorable 
weather  conditions  corn  with  the  smaller  moisture  content  will  dry  out 
in  the  field  and  make  fairly  sound  grain.  Corn  with  the  larger  amounts 
of  moisture,  caught  by  frost  while  the  stalk  is  still  green  and  full  of 
sap,  will  not  dry  out  readily,  and  only  the  most  favorable  weather  con- 
ditions, with  continued  dry,  cool,  and  sunshiny  days,  can  prevent  it 
from  spoiling  in  the  field. 

The  percentage  of  moisture  and  total  dry  substance  per  acre  in 
corn  and  cob  at  different  stages  of  growth  for  the  year  1917,  already 
referred  to  as  an  especially  serious  soft-corn  year,  and  for  1918,  which 
was  a  normal  corn  year  (Table  6),  show  how  variations  in  the  season 
affect  the  growth,  maturity,  and  ultimate  feeding  value  of  the  crop. 

TABLE  6. — How  VARIATION'S  ix  SEASONT  AFFECT  AMOUNTS  OF  MOISTURE  AND 
DRY  MATTER  PER  ACRE  ix  CORN*  AND  COB  AT  DIFFERENT  STAGES  OF  GROWTH1 


1917:  Soft-corn  year 

1918:  Normal  corn  year 

Date 

Moisture 

Dry 
substance 

per  acre 

Date 

Moisture 

Dry 

substance 
per  acre 

Aug.  15-16  
Aug.  24  

pcrct. 

90.53 
82.67 
78.38 
71.02 
68.51 
61.56 
57.47 
54.71 
51.40 
38.76 
51.04 

Ibs. 

238.5 
96S.3 
1  532.1 
2  610.0 
3  050.9 
3  876.5 
3  S80.0 
4  619.8 
4  491.7 
5  097.0 
4  228.2 

Aug.  16  

pcrct. 

77.11 
66.39 
53.54 
45.31 
40.51 
38.62 
31.77 
28.56 
26.55 
23.85 
26.30 
22.60 
22.41 
17.38 

Ibs. 

1  156.3 
2  088.5 
3  987.8 
4  497.9 
4  535.2 
4  879.6 
4  616.3 
4  493.4 
4  533.3 
4  630.1 
4  208.1 
3  953.6 
3  874.1 
3  522.1 

Aug.  23  

Aug.  31-Sept.  1 
Sept.  6  

Sept.  6  

Sept,  18  ... 

Sept,  11  

Sept.  26  

Sept.  19-20.  ..  . 
Sept.  26-28.... 
Oct.  4-5  . 

Oct.  3  

Oct.  11  

Oct.  IS 

Oct.  12.  ... 

Nov.  1 

Nov.  5 

Nov.  22 

Oct.  252  

Nov.  62  

Dec.  II2  

Jan.  222.  .  .  . 

MitvS2  

1From  unpublished  data  by  Grindley  and  Eckstein,  University  of  Illinois. 
2Shock  corn. 


1928}  SOFT  CORN  ix  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING  23 

There  was  a  marked  difference  in  the  percentage  of  moisture  and  in 
the  total  dry  substance  in  grain  and  cob  per  acre  in  the  samples  taken 
about  the  middle  of  August  each  year.  The  difference  was  fairly  well 
maintained  thruout  the  rest  of  the  season,  the  moisture  content  run- 
ning approximately  15  percent  higher  during  1917  than  it  did  for  cor- 
responding dates  in  1918.  The  total  pounds  of  dry  substance  per  acre 
reached  an  approximate  maximum,  indicating  approaching  maturity, 
much  earlier  in  1918  than  in  1917. 

While  the  difference  in  the  moisture  content  of  the  ears  during  the 
abnormal  year  1917  and  the  normal  year  1918  persisted  thruout  the 
growing  season,  the  differences  in  the  total  dry-matter  content  of  corn 
and  cob  per  acre  gradually  lessened.  In  fact  the  total  dry  matter  on 
October  5,  1917,  the  day  preceding  the  first  killing  frost,  was  practi- 
cally equal  to  the  total  dry  matter  on  October  3,  1918.  This  appears 
to  indicate  that  even  in  a  soft-corn  year  like  that  of  1917  some  fields 
may  produce  practically  the  normal  amount  of  dry  matter  but  that 
it  is  greatly  diluted  with  water. 

Aside  from  the  belief  that  soft  corn  is  of  low  feeding  value,  this 
excess  moisture  is  considered  objectionable  because  it  impairs  both  the 
storage  and  milling  qualities  of  the  grain.  The  storage  and  shipping 
of  corn  with  more  than  25  percent  moisture  are  attended  with  so  much 
risk  that  the  market  outlet  is  very  limited.  Hence  the  soft-corn 
problem  is  largely  one  of  how  best  to  preserve  the  feeding  value  of  the 
dry  matter  in  the  immature  ears  and  how  to  feed  it  most  efficiently. 

If,  as  the  present  investigations  tend  to  show,  a  pound  of  dry 
matter  in  well-preserved  soft  corn  is  as  efficient  as  a  pound  of  dry 
matter  in  mature  corn,  then  there  was  little  difference  in  the  feeding 
value  per  acre  of  these  two  fields. 

CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  SOFT  CORN 

A  study  of  the  chemical  composition  of  the  dry  substance  re- 
ported in  Table  6  is  shown  in  Table  7. 

During  the  later  periods,  when  growth  was  most  likely  to  be 
stopped  by  frost,  there  were  no  differences  in  the  percentage  composi- 
tion of  the  dry  matter  in  these  two  fields  of  corn  which  appear  signifi- 
cant. While  a  chemical  analysis  of  this  nature  does  not  give  all  the 
information  necessary  to  form  final  judgment  of  the  relative  feeding 
value  of  the  dry  matter  in  soft  and  in  mature  corn,  it  does,  so  far  as 
it  goes,  tend  to  confirm  the  results  of  feeding  trials  at  this  Station 
and  at  Iowa1  which  indicate  that  the  drv  matter  in  soft  corn  is  about 


'Kennedy  and  others  at  the  Iowa  Station  (Bui.  75,  Iowa  Agr.  Exp.  Sta., 
1902)  as  the  result  of  their  investigations,  conclude  that,  "Soft  corn  .  .  .  contain- 
ing 35  percent  of  moisture  at  the  beginning  of  the  test,  pound  for  pound,  on  a 
water-free,  or  dry  matter  basis  was  fully  equal  in  feeding  value  to  mature  corn  .  .  . 
when  used  for  fattening  cattle."  Evvard  (Circ.  40,  Iowa  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  1917) 


24 


BULLETIN  No.  313 


[June, 


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1928}  SOFT  CORN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING  25 

equal  pound  for  pound  in  feeding  value  to  the  dry  matter  of  mature 
corn.  In  fact  evidence  has  been  presented  by  Osborne  and  Mendel2 
tending  to  show  that  the  proteins  of  immature  corn  may  have  a  higher 
biological  value  than  the  proteins  of  mature  corn.  They  have  shown 
that  the  nutritive  value  of  the  proteins  of  the  corn  embryo  is  distinctly 
higher  than  the  nutritive  value  of  the  proteins  of  corn  endosperm.  If 
the  development  of  the  corn  kernel  can  be  compared  with  that  of  the 
wheat  grain,  then  the  embryo,  with  its  proteins  of  high  nutritive  value, 
develops  more  rapidly  and  is  completed  sooner  than  the  endosperm 
with  its  proteins  of  low  nutritive  value.  It  would  appear  probable 
from  this  that  the  proteins  of  soft  corn  are  fully  as  valuable  as,  if  not 
superior  to,  those  of  mature  corn.  Chemical  determinations  of  the 
character  of  the  proteins  of  mature  and  immature  corn  reported  to 
date  are  not  in  sufficient  accord,  however,  to  justify  any  definite  state- 
ment in  this  regard. 

Chemical  Composition  Not  Significantly  Changed  in  Silo 

In  the  experiment  with  weanling  calves  (pages  19  and  20)  a  study 
was  made  of  the  chemical  composition  of  the  fresh  ear-corn  silage 
used,  both  as  it  was  put  into  the  silo  and  after  it  had  gone  thru  the 
siloing  process.  The  results  are  reported  in  Table  8.  This  corn  was 
from  the  same  field  as  that  reported  in  Table  6. 

The  larger  percentage  of  moisture  in  the  silage  as  compared  with 
the  field  sample  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  6.4  tons  of  water 
was  added  thru  the  blower  to  48.39  tons  of  snapped  ears  siloed.  It 
will  be  noted  also  that  the  moisture  content  of  the  sample  taken  March 
8  was  considerably  less  than  that  of  the  fresh  silage;  while  that  of  the 
sample  taken  May  13,  near  the  bottom  of  the  silo,  was  considerably 
higher.  This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  when  a  large  amount  of 
free  water  is  added,  it  is  not  absorbed  rapidly  enough  to  prevent  some 
of  it  from  settling  toward  the  bottom  of  the  silo. 

The  results  of  chemical  analysis,  as  expressed  on  a  dry-matter 
basis,  show  no  significant  changes  taking  place  during  the  siloing 


reports  that  hogs  fed  for  108  days  on  sample  grade  corn  containing  an  average  of 
21. 3  percent  moisture  made  more  rapid  gains  on  slightly  less  dry  matter  per  pound 
of  gain  than  similar  hogs  fed  old  No.  3  corn  containing  13.8  percent  moisture. 
He  says,  "It  is  surprising  how  well  pigs  like  soft  and  immature  corn.  They  may 
root  out  a  few  spoiled  kernels  now  and  then,  but  when  the  self-feeders  are  closed 
down  somewhat,  they  even  eat  most  of  these."  Evvard,  Lamb,  and  Maynard 
(Bui.  216,  Iowa  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  1923)  also  report  satisfactory  results  from  siloing 
husked  ears.  In  this  experiment  soft  corn  was  purchased  on  the  market  and 
sorted  into  four  grades.  All  grades  came  thru  the  siloing  process  in  good  condi- 
tion with  the  exception  of  the  poorest  grade,  which  contained  a  large  amount  of 
moldy  corn.  Chemical  studies  on  the  resulting  silage  indicated  that  the  dry 
matter  was  not  unlike  that  of  mature  corn. 
Mour.  Biol.  Chem.  29,  79.  1917. 


26 


BULLETIN  No.  313 


[June, 


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SOFT  CORN  IN  BEEF  CATTLE  FEEDING 


27 


process  except  a  marked  reduction  in  crude  fiber  and  ash  which  is 
compensated  for  by  increases  in  the  other  constituents.  These  differ- 
ences would  suggest  no  detrimental  effects  from  chemical  changes 
taking  place  during  the  siloing  process. 

Acidity  determinations  were  made  because  of  the  observed  pitting 
effect  of  ear-corn  silage  on  the  walls  of  concrete  silos.  The  rather 
high  acidity  for  the  March  28  sample  is  suggestive  of  the  cause  of  the 
pitting.  It  is  not  known  what  effect,  if  any,  this  acidity  may  have 
on  the  feeding  value  of  the  silage. 

SUMMARY 

Six  experiments  involving  the  use  of  ear-corn  silage  for  cattle 
feeding  have  been  conducted  at  the  University  of  Illinois  beginning 
in  1916.  The  most  extensive  trial  was  made  with  the  frosted  crop 
of  1924,  when  soft  corn  was  fed  experimentally  in  the  form  of  shocked 
corn,  as  standing  corn  pastured  in  the  field,  as  broken  ears  brought 
from  the  field  as  needed,  and  as  ear-corn  silage  made  from  the  snapped 


FIG.  6. — SNAPPING  FROSTED  CORN  FOR  EAR-CORN  SILAGE 
This  mechanical  picker  was  used  on  the  farm  of  Bryce  D. 
Smith  at  Genoa,  Illinois.  Mr.  Smith  used  two  pickers  with  husk- 
ing rolls  covered  with  sheet  metal,  and  reports  excellent  results. 
He  believes  that  the  use  of  mechanical  pickers  expedited  the 
work  and  reduced  the  cost. 


ears.  The  ear-corn  silage  contained  most  of  the  husks,  some  shanks, 
and  all  of  the  grain  and  cob. 

In  all  but  one  of  the  six  experiments  the  cattle  relished  well- 
preserved  soft  corn  and  made  satisfactory  gains  on  all  forms  fed. 

Ranked  on  the  basis  of  the  combined  gains  produced  on  cattle 
and  hogs  by  an  acre  of  soft  corn,  ear-corn  silage  comes  first;  then 


28  BULLETIN  No.  313 

shock  corn,  then  corn  left  in  the  field  and  husked  as  needed,  and 
standing  corn  pastured  by  the  cattle  in  the  field,  last.  Pasturing  or 
"cattling-down"  of  corn  in  the  field  resulted  in  much  waste  that  was 
not  recovered  by  the  hogs  following  the  cattle. 

Gains  on  soft-corn  rations  were  not  so  rapid  as  on  sound  mature 
corn,  but  they  wrere  just  as  economical  considered  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  efficiency  with  which  the  dry  matter  of  the  grain  was  utilized. 

The  total  dry  matter  per  acre  in  grain  and  cob  produced  in  an 
experimental  field  in  1917,  a  bad  soft-corn  year,  was  practically  equal 
to  that  produced  in  the  same  field  during  the  normal  season  of  1918. 

The  amount  of  dry  matter  required  for  100  pounds  gain  was 
practically  the  same  whether  fed  in  the  form  of  soft  corn  or  mature 
corn. 

The  addition  of  oats  or  of  sound  shelled  corn  to  a  ration  of  ear- 
corn  silage  did  not  prove  profitable. 

Some  trouble  was  experienced  with  calves  fed  ear-corn  silage  in 
1920  and  again  in  1927,  but  this  trouble  could  not  be  definitely 
identified  with  the  character  of  the  rations  fed. 

As  the  market  outlet  for  corn  of  high  moisture  content  is  very 
limited,  feeding  on  the  farm  appears  to  offer  the  most  satisfactory 
method  for  its  disposal. 


;    • 


HOC 


"iVERSITYOFILLINOIS-URBANA 


